


Comfort

by Dreamflight4630 (Dem0nLight)



Series: Universal [7]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Underfell, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Off-screen death, Singing, Song is by Skillet, Underfell Papyrus, dust - Freeform, mo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-25 13:23:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9822500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dem0nLight/pseuds/Dreamflight4630
Summary: With the Underground now at peace, there is no need for violence any longer. Unfortunately, not every monster sees it that way.It's always some idiot who blunders about making a mess that Tabatha has to clean up. This time, the mess happens to be her boyfriend.





	

Papyrus very slowly opened the door to his home, almost unaware of the action. His Soul was shaking, feeling on the edge of cracking. For a moment, he wondered why and then he felt the dust, gritty in the joints of his fingers.

"Welcome home," he heard his girlfriend call from the kitchen where she was making him so sort of food to treat him after a long day. It was customary that he respond, but the tall skeleton could barely get the door closed, much less actually articulate words in his current state.

The long silence from the kitchen alerted him to the fact that the human was onto him. When she came out into the entry hall, she took in his haggard appearance and immediately strode over to take his face into her hands. Her dark eyes flickered over him with concern before she lowered her arms to take his hands and pull him over to the couch.

"What happened?" Tabatha asked, her tone low.

Papyrus just stared at her, not sure how to start, uncertain whether he should share it with her. But then he felt her pulling off his gloves and saw how her eyes widened when a small plume of dust curled into the air at the motion. After a brief silence, she dared to speak.

"What did they do?"

"...THEY ACCUSED ME OF BEING WEAK, OF GOING SOFT…AND THEY ATTACKED ME, SURE THEY COULD TAKE ME DOWN...THEY WERE WRONG."

His rib cage felt too tight, his Soul ached with an unfamiliar pain. He didn't even realize he'd begun to cry until his girlfriend's warm fingers began to wipe away the tears with gentle strokes.

"What are you feeling right now?" she asked.

"I DON'T KNOW," he choked out. "I...I HAVE NEVER FELT THIS WAY BEFORE. NEVER HAVE I REGRETTED TAKING A LIFE...BUT WE ARE AT PEACE NOW; HUMAN FRISK CONVINCED HIS MAJESTY TO REPEAL THE LAW. MURDER IS NO LONGER SANCTIONED…"

"Was it murder? Or were you defending yourself from a murderer?"

He couldn't answer. Oh stars he could barely breathe!

Sudden warmth wrapped around him, smothering the panic. He came back to himself and realized he was clinging to his girlfriend quite tightly and she was returning the embrace without hesitation. She was whispering an endless stream of platitudes, holding him so close he could feel her pulse against his bodies.

"Shhhh," she soothed. "Come on Pap, lean into me. Let me reach you. I got you."

The brunette scooted off the couch, bringing the tall skeleton with her to the floor. She adjusted her grip so she was cradling his skull against her clavicle, humming gently. When his breathing had settled from pants to a more structured—though still shaky—pattern of inhalation and exhalation, she gently began to sing to him, her voice low and vibrating against his bones.

" _Do you know what it's like when_  
_You're scared to see yourself?_  
_Do you know what it's like when_  
_You wish you were someone else?_  
_Who didn't need your help to get by..._  
_Do you know what it's like_  
_To wanna surrender?_ "

He knew this song: this was one of those rock songs she sang when she was feeling more somber or was comforting Sans after one of his panic attacks. The way she crooned the words so gently, it was hard to believe that it belonged to the genre at all.

" _I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow_  
_I don't wanna live like this today_  
_Make me feel better!_  
_I wanna feel better!_  
_Stay with me here now_  
_And never surrender..._  
_Never surrender…_ "

Magic welled up on the edge of his sockets again, forming his glowing tears. Papyrus held them back, his grip on his human tightening as he tried to ground himself.

" _Do you know what it's like when_  
_You're not who you wanna be?_  
_Do you know what it's like to_  
_Be your own worst enemy?_  
_Who sees the things in me I can't hide..._  
_Do you know what it's like to wanna surrender?_ "

He couldn't help it: the magical tears slipped from his control. His whole being was trembling and flooded with emotions that were so jumbled it was hard for him to find the reason why he was crying—whether it was from relief or pain. It almost seemed like Tabatha was taking his thoughts, hearing what his Soul was crying out and was translating it into plain and simple words that captured the essence of this moment so perfectly.

" _I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow_  
_I don't wanna live like this today_  
_Make me feel better!_  
_I wanna feel better!_  
_Stay with me here now_  
_And never surrender_ "

Papyrus caught himself whispering the lyrics, like a haunted echo. The action seemed to lighten the pressure inside his rib cage as the tears kept flowing.

" _Make me feel better_  
_You make me feel better_  
_You make me feel better_  
_Put me back together!_ "

Tabatha changed her grip so she could pull him closer, her lips brushing his brow as she ran her warm hands down his vertebrae. Her voice was shaky with suppressed emotion as her volume dropped to a near whisper.

" _I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow_  
_I don't wanna live like this today_  
_Make me feel better!_  
_I need to feel better!_  
_Stay with me here now_  
_And never surrender…_ "

Papyrus felt his girlfriend's fingers tenderly wiping away the wetness on his cheeks as she pressed a kiss to the top of his skull.

" _Put me back together…_ "

The lanky skeleton found the strength to prop himself up on one arm so he could look his human straight in the eyes. Those dark orbs stared right back, filled with affection and an empathetic sadness at seeing him in pain.

" _Never surrender..._ "

He pressed their foreheads together as he joined her for the last few lines of the song, his voice low and raspy from trying to contain all his feelings.

" _Make me feel better!_  
_You make me feel better!_  
_Stay with me here now_  
_And never surrender._ "

The pair rested in silence, eyes closed as they basked in the glow of each other's company. With their closeness, it didn't take long for them to start kissing.

"THANK YOU, BELOVED," Papyrus murmured. "YOU ARE ALWAYS SO PERCEPTIVE TO MY NEEDS."

"It's just a small repayment for all you've done for me," the human answered. "I'm sorry that you've had to suffer the way you have."

"IT IS SIMPLY PART OF OUR LIFE—OR WAS UNTIL VERY RECENTLY."

"Don't just blow it off," Tabatha reprimanded. "That doesn't change that you've gone through a lot and didn't deserve most of what happened in the beginning. But it's over now and there's some adjustments that need to happen... I'm just glad you told me; you aren't always good at doing that."

The guardsman gently nuzzled his forehead against her, bare phalanges sliding through her hair. There were no words for how he felt, at least not words that he was comfortable articulating. But she knew...and he thanked the stars that she knew.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a reminder, this is open to requests if you have them. Not every AU has a charactertized Tabatha yet, but I am willing to try just about anything! The main 3 universes (Fell, Swap and Tale) are the best developed though I do have some more ideas for Mafiatale and Swapfell. (Also, I don't write smut, so please no explicit requests.)


End file.
